Firefighters tested as high winds help house fires to spread

Firefighters said high winds that hampered their ability to put out two house fires on Valparaiso’s west side late Thursday sent embers flying several blocks south, with embers also causing an attack fire hose to burst.

Firefighters were dispatched at 11:19 p.m. Thursday to the 2600 block of Kerry Drive for a report that a home was on fire, and flames were visible on a neighboring home, according to a release from Lt. Robert Schulte, public information officer for the Valparaiso Fire Department.

The first firefighters arriving on the scene reported that the first home was fully involved with fire and the second home, to the east, had smoke and flames coming from the eaves of an exterior wall.

Both homes were evacuated before firefighters arrived. The owner of the second home woke up from the sound of wind on the exterior of the home and looked out the rear of the home and saw a glow. When the man went outside to investigate, he discovered that his neighbor’s house was on fire and that his home was starting to ignite from the intense heat.

The Valparaiso Fire Department Investigation Bureau is investigating the cause of the fire, though no preliminary findings are available yet.

Firefighters’ efforts were hampered by 30 to 40 mph north winds that distributed embers several blocks south of the fire. Personnel from the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department investigated the embers to make sure they did not start additional fires. An attack fire hose burst as a result of the flying embers.

A natural gas meter melted off of the first house and added fuel to the winddriven fire. Northern Indiana Public Service Company was called on scene to excavate the supply in the yard to stop the flow of natural gas.

Due to the advanced fire conditions, firefighters were forced to attack the homes defensively from outside. The first home was completely destroyed, and the second home sustained major damage, although the attached garage and its contents, which included two cars, suffered minimal damage.

Off-duty firefighters were called in to staff fire stations and respond to additional calls during the fire.

Also assisting at the scene were the Valparaiso Police Department and the Valparaiso Street Department, which applied salt to the icy roads as a result of the water runoff from the fire.